Paperwork
by Jena Rink
Summary: There was still much left unsaid. She didn't know how to tell him, and he didn't know how to deal with the fact that she was alive again. That she was real. That she was sitting in front of him again, working on paperwork as if nothing had happened.-7.04
1. Chapter 1

Paperwork-

Jena Rink

October 16, 2009

Disclaimer- I do not own NCIS. Haha. This story is a Season Seven, taking place right after last weeks episode. Its totally Tiva. And kind of smutty to be honest. Heh. This is my second ever story for NCIS. The first one I wrote is in deep editing, and this is supposed to be the start of it…but Im not sure if I will do it. Hope you enjoy This little one shot. If you like it, I'll write more stories. I haven't written in a while.

Reviews are love, so please let me know! This was hard because I had a really hard time deciding how exactly the sex was going to go down. lol

"You okay?" she glanced up, shooting him an annoyed glance.

"As you can see, Tony, I am buried in paperwork," she said quickly, the changes in her appearance obvious. She looked, better. Tony had noticed it since her application had been approved, "And I have been told that I have to fulfill all the necessary qualifications to become a US citizen as well, which is going to take up significant amounts of my free time."

She was starting to gain weight again, after being in that prison camp for so long. Tony wasn't sure if she was real. Sure, for the sake of his attitude and everyone elses, he'd been the same old Tony, cracking jokes to relieve his inner questionings and insecurities. And lately he'd been doing it more than usual. Because Ziva's return was about as insecure as it could get. They'd already tried to get her back once, and her father was furious. She wasn't letting it effect her though. The only hint he saw of her pain was the look in her eyes sometimes, when he caught her staring at him.

They had not talked since this morning, exchanging the usual witty banter that Tony considered to be an essential part of every day. Get to work, get coffee, mock Mcgee, banter with Ziva, headslap, case. It seemed to always work that way. Although this time it was different. He stared down at her, and she raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to ask him anything besides 'Are you okay?'. He knew she was sick of it.

"I'll help," he offered, and she stared at him strangely. She was more cautious now, more than ever. Although they'd gotten her to talk about the Damocles, she wasn't cracking about anything else that had happened over the summer in Somalia.

"Why would you help?" she asked, confused, and he rolled his eyes.

"Ziva its almost midnight, It wasn't fair to drop all of that on your desk. Even if you are a probie," he said, and she stared at him in astonishment.

"You have not been calling me that," she said, and he shrugged, glancing away from her. The truth was, he didn't want her to know that she wasn't just something he could pick on whenever he pleased. And he wasn't quite used to her being back yet. Let alone the idea that she was alive, that she was tortured. That she felt remorse. That she had wanted to die. That was the one thing Tony couldn't seem to wrap his head around.

"McGoo would get jealous. You know how he loves his pet names," he joked, and she snorted, handing him half of the stack when he walked over to her desk.

"Did Gibbs say all of this had to be done tonight?" he asked, and she shrugged.

She'd been buried in work all day, too excited to do anything except what Gibbs had told her to do.

"I do not remember. I was too…excited," she said softly, and he grinned.

"Gibbs trusts you, Z, he wouldn't have let you not get approved. Things weren't the same when you weren't around," he said, squeezing her shoulder gently, setting the files down and walking to squat behind her.

"And why are you still around?" she asked him, and he shrugged, staring anywhere but at her face.

"You're my partner. I have your back," he said, and she smiled for a moment, trying to remind herself that Tony was just being protective, as he always was, even though she didn't need it.

"You are making sure I am alright? Again? For the fiftieth time today? I am not made of glass, Tony," she said, her aggravation getting the best of her.

"I know you aren't, Zee-vah. But you're not bulletproof either," he said, and she blinked, staring up at him, realizing how quiet the office was. There was no one around but him and her. And then it hit Ziva that he'd stuck around on purpose, to try and get her to talk.

"I am not ready to talk about this with you," she breathed, and he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm tired of pretending," he noted softly, and she glanced at him in confusion, remembering the moment when they were trying to steal Domino and she heard the gunshot go off, the heated conversation afterwards, where he had almost completely revealed the fact that he had feelings for her. Just as she had for him. But at that point, she was already with Rivkin.

"Pretending what?" she questioned, and he sighed.

"You believe I was protecting you, right?" she nodded slowly, not sure where this was going. She'd had a lot of time to think about things in Somalia. How she should have reacted. Had she of known what Rivkin was doing, she would have left him there for dead. She was snapped out of her thoughts by the close proximity Tony held to her. She could smell his aftershave.

"You are not taking that truth serum Saleem gave you again are you?" she questioned, confused, and he glanced around, making sure that no one was in fact in the bullpen.

"When you left, Gibbs was convinced you were going to come back. I wasn't. I knew you didn't trust me, and I knew that was why you left," he began softly, and she frowned.

Why must he bring this up? Why now? In the middle of the night, right after she had had to relive the first part of her mission?

"Tony, you don't have-"she started, and turned her chair so that it faced him, kneeling down in front of her, their eyes locked.

"The last thing I wanted to do was make you unhappy. I knew he was playing you, and it wasn't just because I didn't like the guy," Tony said, and she frowned.

"You know nothing of what I went through, why should you have to tell me?" she responded softly, and he shrugged.

"Maybe it will help you realize that we care. We won't judge what happened to you, Ziva. You don't have to always be bulletproof," he said softly, and she closed her eyes tightly.

"This isn't appropriate in the office," she said softly, and he rolled his eyes.

"Elevator?" he questioned, and she shook her head.

"Autopsy," she responded quietly, following Tony down the stairs, locking the door behind her. She was petrified of what was about to happen. She wasn't good about speaking her feelings. She never had been. She'd been trained to repress them.

"This is silly," she said, and he sighed, grabbing the first bottle he could find and giving her two glasses.

"There's only about eight hours a day when everyone falls away, and I can see everything for what it is. When there's no one around but me. You need to know," Tony pressed, and Ziva ran a hand over her eyes.

"Fine. You will tell me, and I will tell you," she said, taking a long sip of the drink, and sitting next to him on the floor in the near darkness of autopsy. The tension in the room was almost touchable. Hopefully it would be diffused when he finally told her.

"I went to talk to you. He invited me inside. I didn't know where you were. But he was…rather drunk," he said quietly, and she took another sip, finishing her drink and grabbing the bottle, taking another long sip.

"We had some words. I told him what I knew…what he had done. I said I was going to arrest him. He didn't take kindly to that," he continued.

"You were an idiot. He was an assassin, Tony," she said quickly, and he shrugged.

"I tried to do it quietly. I should have called for backup," he said," I didn't go looking for him. I came there to talk to you. I already said that. I wanted to give you a chance to prove me wrong, and tell me you really didn't know what was going on. Because partners don't lie to each other like that," he said, and she took another sip.

"I was foolish as well," she commented softly, and he shook his head.

"He came at me first, Ziva. He choked me. I tried to buck him off, but we landed on the table. He grabbed the glass, and I told him to stop. I told him to not do it, to not come at me with it. I didn't want to kill him, Ziva. I didn't like him, sure, but I never wanted to kill him. But when he got to the point of killing me, I had to shoot him," Tony said, and Ziva sniffled. He reached out, and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"You know what happened next," he breathed, and she shook her head.

"I am sorry,"she whispered, and he shook his head.

"We all get blinded by some things, Ziva," he said, and she shook her head.

"And this summer?" she ventured, and he glanced up at the ceiling.

"Gibbs wanted to keep your desk empty for as long as possible. Even though he'd told me what had happened with Director Vance, how he'd told him that you had shot Ari under orders," Tony paused,"Gibbs and I got drunk a lot last summer," he took a long sip of his drink,"Worked on his boat. It helped, I guess. It was better than being afloat…and I was still struggling with the fact that you were gone. Probably because last time, you almost died because of it, and you didn't think to tell me," he drank the rest of the scotch in his glass, and turned to face her," Abby was a mess…saying that you were spiritually absent or something, McGee would stare forlornly at his desk. I used to call him McEmo,"she punched him on the arm, and he winced.

"You can understand why it was hard to change your mind? I didn't even know if I could trust you anymore. And you wouldn't listen," he trailed off, "I honestly thought you were going to kill me while we were in Tel E Viv, even though I had gotten your father to admit that he had been pulling the strings all along."

"Blind patriotism can be a strange thing, yes?" she asked him quietly, and he nodded, grabbing the bottle from her and taking a long swig, "I did not know who I could trust. I knew I had messed up with all of you, not telling you things you already knew. Lying…"

"I covered for you," Tony reminded her, and she sighed.

"I cannot say how sorry I am for my actions. I felt alone when I left. The only thing that I wanted to do was throw myself back into work," she breathed," Even if it killed me. I very much doubted that any of you would take me back with open arms…and the only way to prove my loyalty was to do exactly as my father had requested…"she breathed.

"So you went on a suicide mission," he said, and she sighed, staring over at him in the darkness.

"I know you do not understand. I was ready to die. I had failed everyone here. My father…did not really care," she said quietly, the alcohol beginning to effect her.

"Life lost all meaning," he said softly, and she frowned.

"Excuse me?" she questioned, and he sighed.

"Its what I told him…there," Tony said quietly, "I told him that when I heard you were dead, life lost all meaning," Tony whispered, and she closed her eyes tightly. So he had still cared. After everything that had happened. He was the reason she was here.

"You came all the way to Somalia and risked your life, off the grid, to save me from them," she said quietly, "Tony, you did not-"

"Oh but I did," he responded, "We tried to find a replacement, you know? Gibbs hired three girls before that last one. They weren't funny. They were American, and boring, and they knew how to say everything already, and they weren't sneaky, and they weren't the glue."

"I was the glue?" she responded.

"Well you held me together, I think," he explained, the alcohol taking effect," I tried to call you. Multiple times, you know," she shook her head.

"My cell phone…was down with the Damocles," she said quietly.

"Revenge was the only thing I could think of," he continued softly,"And he was the only person I could point to. You were fulfilling Michael's last mission, but I had already killed him…so that left Saleem. I was obsessed….McGee and Abs were too,"

he said softly, and turned to face her, his face barely distinguishable in the red tinted light.

"When I saw you were alive, I would have done a dance. But I was tied to a chair," he said, and she sighed.

"They were about to kill me, you know," she breathed, and he squeezed her hand even tighter.

"Then I have really really really good timing," he said, and she laughed softly.

"Look," she breathed, leaning against the wall, staring at him,"This…you have to promise you wont go crazy hearing me talk about what happened, alright? I…I was…I was hoping I'd get to talk about this with someone that wasn't so invested in my well being, but the woman I am supposed to meet with is not enough," she said, and he nodded.

"I promise," he said simply, and she sighed.

"I….got captured as soon as I got within a foot of him. They didn't have girls traveling with them. I was the only one. The only captive as well," she said softly, staring down at their hands," He wanted to know who I was. I wouldn't tell him…so he…beat me…which is nothing I am not used to. We were trained in being able to handle that…to fight back. But the fight in me was gone. I didn't believe I had anything left to live for, let alone fight for. I would not tell him anything about me, anything about Mossad, anything about NCIS…"she breathed," I felt that my last act of loyalty should be not giving anything away about your operation…"

"Ziva," he started, and she let go of his hand.

"I wanted him to kill me. I wanted it to end. I was done, you see, so nothing he could do would make me talk. It infuriated him. He let the entire team have a go at me, you would say…and none of them could get me to say anything," she said, her voice borderline on emotional. His hand was clenched so tight that he thought it might draw blood.

"When I saw you there, the first thought was that I'd failed. That I'd said something. That they'd found you and McGee, and that now I would have to watch you die," her voice broke, and he noticed, his eyes wide, that she was crying.

"Ziva." He said softly, and she shook her head.

"I am fine. I will be fine," she assured him, sniffling, wiping her nose on her shirt.

"You know its alright to cry?" he questioned, his voice slightly slurred, "I've never seen you cry before." She coughed, getting her emotions under control.

"You know what is not alright?" she asked, and he sighed.

"What, Z?" he asked, and she glanced over at him.

"You are drunk as a raccoon," she muttered, and he laughed softly.

"Skunk, Z," he corrected her softly, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she breathed, leaning against him, her arms winding around his waist.

"Skunks drink?" she questioned softly, and he laughed.

"No, its just an expression,"

"You are going to help me with these…American sayings if I am going to become a citizen you know," she ventured, and he smiled.

"I can certainly get you caught up on pop culture," he said, and she laughed.

"Movies?" she asked, and he grinned.

"Of course," he said, and she sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"That is a loaded question," she responded, staring up at him," I am….confused," she added quickly.

"Ziva…you know I-"she shook her head, putting her finger over his lips.

"I can't believe you got me to talk about my feelings," she said, and he shrugged.

"But you feel better?" he questioned.

"And I'm incredibly drunk," she noted," I have not been this drunk in quite some time," she added, tilting her head up to stare at him.

"I'm glad you smell good again," Tony said a second later, and she frowned.

"You know how I smell? "she asked, and he looked embarrassed.

"Well I know how you shouldn't smell, and that's what you smelled like when we got you from Somalia," he said, and she shook her head, staring at him in astonishment, their eyes locked in one of the gazes they frequently shared, filled with the words they couldn't say.

"You did not smell that great either." She said, sniffing his neck,"You smell better now," she commented, her nose brushing the hollow of this throat.

"Gibbs is going to head slap us in the morning. And its going to hurt," he commented, softly, and she leant further against him.

They stayed like that for a while, and Tony was almost asleep, when her voice broke the silence.

"Have you ever been in love?" she asked him softly, suddenly, and he sat up, staring down at her.

"I don't know. I thought I was with Jeanne. That was a complete mess…."he trailed off, and she closed her eyes tightly.

"Do you think Michael was in love with me? Considering I was also a mission?" she asked, and he took a swig of the bottle, his drunk courage overpowering him.

"I don't know how anyone could not fall in love with you," he said, in a moment of clarity, mostly to himself, and her eyes narrowed.

"Are you yanking my leg, Tony?" she questioned softly, sitting up, their noses brushing against each other.

"Pulling your leg?"he corrected, his face moving closer to hers.

"Yes, that,"she whispered, their lips a breath apart.

"No," he managed softly, seconds before their lips connected, softly, her hands coming up to tentatively play with his hair. She maneuvered over so that she was straddling his waist, sitting on the back of her legs as she continued to kiss him, soft pecks against his lips, the complete opposite of what they had shared while working undercover.

She smelled so good. Tony couldn't get over it, his hands skimming the exposed part of her waist where her shirt had ridden up, squeezing her waist. She was kissing him. Ziva David was kissing him.

She moaned softly against his mouth, and he couldn't resist from sweeping his tongue into hers, their kisses becoming more passionate as the moments wore on, her fingers undoing the buttons on his shirt nimbly, palming his chest.

"Tony,"she moaned softly, holding his head to her neck as he kissed it, sucking on the skin there. She pushed his shirt off of his torso, and he kissed back up to her lips.

"Are you sure you…."she nodded quickly, her eyes bright in the darkness, staring at him.

"Please," she whispered, and he nodded, pulling her top over her head, exposing her bra, his eyes scanning her torso. She shrunk under his gaze, and he lifted her chin to stare at him.

"You're beautiful," he said softly, and her cheeks blushed scarlet.

He pulled her to him, and she consented, their lips meeting again languidly.

"You're blushing," he noted," You're cheeks are hot," he whispered breathlessly.

And then she realized that he was crying.

"Tony?" she breathed, and he stared up at her.

"This is just hard for me to grasp," he said quietly, and then she understood.

"I'm here," she breathed, unclasping her bra and laying against him, her head on his chest. She grabbed his hands tightly, and stared him straight in the eyes.

"I'm real, Tony. I'm with you." She reassured him softly, kissing him all over his face, down his neck, and his eyelids, kissing the small amount of tears away.

He pulled her into a small kiss, breaking away to stare up at her, and she sighed.

"I have never seen you so vulnerable in my life," she said quietly, and he held her against him.

"I could say the same for you, Zee-vah," he whispered, leaning back up to kiss her, both of them kicking their shoes off.

He made a pillow out of their shirts before he rolled her over, kissing down her chest slowly, taking time to appreciate everything she had to offer. She moaned, arching her back as his fingers found the clasp to her pants.

He met her eyes, and kissed her softly as he undid them, surprised when she undid his pants as well.

"You are wearing too many clothes," she informed him softly, and he bit back a smile, staring at her.

They both kicked off their pants, and he took her in his arms again, both of them laying on their sides, Tony tracing the curve of her breast with his fingers gently.

"I do not imagine things usually go this slowly for you," Ziva said, and he kissed up her right shoulder, towards her lips.

"There is a difference to what I would do typically, and to what I do with you," he said softly, kissing her forehead, his eyes staring at her in that way that made her knees weak.

"Why have we never done this before?" she asked softly, and he grinned.

"Not counting the under cover op?" he asked, and she flushed.

"That dress…"he said softly, his eyes lighting up, and she smirked at him.

"I do not think what we are about to do requires any thoughts about clothing,Agent Dinozzo," she whispered, her hand skimming down his chest to touch him softly under the waistband of his boxers.

"Ziva…"he gasped, his eyes hazy, and kissed her again, slowly, his hands slowly pulling down her underwear.

She pushed his boxers down with her feet, their eyes meeting as she rolled him underneath her, both of them skin to skin.

"Are you sure you want this?" he asked her softly, playing with a strand of her hair, and she sunk onto him, both of their breaths catching in their throat. He sat up, pulling her with him, their eyes locked as she started to move slowly.

"Ziva," he whispered, and she nestled her head in the crook of his shoulder as they continued to move, her breath getting shorter, her legs burning from the movement.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered softly, kissing his neck softly, her lips moving up to his ear," I am here…I am not going anywhere," he turned, and took her lips in his as their movements grew more frenzied. She broke for breath, and glanced at his eyes, that were still bloodshot. He had gone through more than she had realized.

"Tony," she whispered softly, her chest heaving, and he stopped moving, staring at her for a moment, catching his breath as well. The room was silent as they caught their breath, his fingers coming up to trace her lips, almost in awe.

"its okay," she breathed quietly, surprised when he pulled her against him suddenly, kissing her passionately as he began to thrust again, his hand running down her stomach to play with her clit.

"Come for me, Z…you're safe," he whispered against her ear, and she pulled him into another kiss, screaming into his mouth as she came, her hips bucking against his as of their own accord.

"Tony," she mumbled, her hips still moving slowly against him, their eyes locked,"Let go," he groaned against her shoulder as he came, realizing the words had a double meaning.

Moments later, she laid in his arms, her head against his chest, listening to his hearbeat as it slowed, her right hand tangled with his as his left stroked her hair.

"Thank you,"she whispered, and he stared down at her, a smile on his face, as well as disbelief.

"That's the weirdest response I've ever gotten after," she whacked him on the arm with her free hand, and he winced.

"You're welcome," he said as an afterthought, kissing her again, running his hands all over her upper back, making goosebumps erupt across her skin.

When they next broke for breath, she laid against him again, staring at the wall as he stroked her hair, the euphoria fading as she realized she had just had sex at work, with her partner after hours, in a room that usually stored dead bodies.

"Everything is going to be fine," he breathed, and she sighed, staring at him, before sitting up quickly and taking another sip from the bottle, surprised when he took the bottle from her, setting it down and kissing the back of her neck, holding her hair to the side,"You're safe here. You're one of us now," he reminded her quietly, and she turned her head, kissing him gently on the mouth, her eyes bright with emotion.

"Sure beats paperwork, doesn't it?" she said softly, and he laughed quietly, stroking her hair.

"You're getting good at this sarcastic joking thing," he commented, and she kissed his chest gently.

"I learnt from the best," she whispered, her nose brushing against his adam's apple as she slid up his body, kissing his jaw and then his lips. He didn't respond.

"Tony?" she questioned a second later, and realized he was asleep, soft snores coming from his nose. She leant further into him, and whispered something in his ear, kissing cheek before falling quickly into slumber.

Palmer was early to work that day. He had a large stack of paperwork that was due at 0900, and he entered the building as usual, breezing through security and making his way down to autopsy. He hadn't met traffic on the way, and was in a pretty good mood until he opened the door.

"Oh my God!" he said, half shocked and half relieved. Ziva's head shot up blearily, and when she saw Palmer, her eyes widened.

She was naked. Palmer was staring at her naked. It took her a second to remember exactly what had happened last night. She knew she'd had a lot of scotch. And then she noticed the warm body beneath her.

"Oh dear," she mumbled, sitting up quickly, the shirt they were covering themselves with falling to the side. Palmer stared at her in shock for a moment., and she realized he'd almost gone catatonic, rolling her eyes.

"Palmer!" she said fiercely, and he jumped, realizing he should have turned around. He did, turning towards the door and keeping an eye out as he heard the rustling of clothing in the background, Tony's soft snores echoing in the room.

"Sorry, Officer David,"

"Its Agent now," she reminded him softly, and his eyes widened,"And yes I'm aware of rule #12," she added softly, looking around the room. Abby would be in soon. They had to move fast.

"Palmer, what time is it?" she said, her voice anxiety ridden, staring over at Tony, who had slept through the entire ordeal, his hair messed up adorably. She wanted to touch it. If she had thoughts like this about Tony for the rest of the day, work was going to take on a whole new meaning.

"You have an hour," he told her, and she nodded silently, kneeling down next to Tony, her hand brushing over his hair as she leant down to kiss him.

"Wake up, my little hairy butt," she teased, and he groaned.

"You know I had that waxed, or you weren't paying attention yesterday," he said jokingly, and she rolled her eyes.

"We are not alone in this room, Tony," his head shot up, and hit hers, both of them groaning.

"Palmer, some Asprin?" she asked him, and he left the room, leaving them alone.

"God, my back hurts," he moaned, opening his eyes to stare at her for a moment,"What hap-"it came back to him quickly, and his eyes widened, staring at her torso, still not fully clothed.

She hit him on the back of the head, and he winced.

"Was that really necessary?" he asked her, as she handed him his boxers, their hands touching lightly,"I'm just appreciating,"she cut him off with a soft kiss, and he sat up, leaning into it.

"I will make up for it later," she promised, and he wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively, wincing at the pain in his head.

"Too much scotch?" she asked softly, attempting to fix his hair once his boxers were on.

"You had more than I did," he accused, and she smiled at him.

"You are a lightweight, Tony," she remarked, and he scoffed.

"Am not," he said, and she rolled her eyes, leaning in towards him.

"If you do not let me fix your sleeping hair, I will want to take you to my apartment and ravish you all day long," she said softly, and his eyes lit up.

"Um, Tony, Ziva?" Palmer asked, and Tony noticed him for the first time, almost flying away from Ziva, whose hand had been on his inner thigh when Palmer had walked in.

"Oh God," Tony muttered, pulling on his pants as quickly as possible, trying not to fall over. When he was fully dressed, he stared over at Ziva, who was staring out the window at the sunrise.

"Zee-vah?" he questioned, drawing her name out, and she turned to stare at him, and then back at Palmer, a knowing look on her face.

"Discretion?" she questioned, and Palmer swallowed thickly.

"Yep, got it," he said, looking at Ziva in a completely different way.

"Stop picturing her naked, Palmer," Tony said simply, and Ziva hit Palmer on the back of the head.

"If you want a show, Mcgee has pictures of her in a bikini," Tony said, and she pinched his ear, pulling him towards the elevators.

"Ouch!" he said, grinning at her, and she hit the button for the main floor.

"You are not nice to that poor boy. He is in way over his head.," Ziva told him teasingly as they rode the elevator.

"Is he?" Tony asked, pressing the stop button and staring at her, "You head slapped him!" he said back, and she rolled her eyes, leaning into him, a tired smile on her face, staring at his lips. They were swollen. She wanted to kiss them again.

"You still have my bikini photos," she teased, her lips inching towards his.

"We have to be professional when we get up there," he reminded her softly, and he nodded, her eyes fixated on his lips.

"Stop doing that, Zee-vah, you're giving me bedroom eyes," he warned as she smirked up at him.

"What are those? I do not understand what you are trying to say," she said innocently, and stood on her tip toes, capturing his lips softly, pulling back to stare up at him.

"You are an evil, evil woman," he told her in mock seriousness, and she kissed his cheek.

"And you love me for it." She slipped, and he started at her strangely, awkward silence taking over the elevator.

"Um, you have spare clothes?" he asked, changing the subject quickly, and she nodded. It was easy enough to say they would not talk about the L word for a while.

"I must go finish my paperwork, Tony," she breathed, glancing down, and he lifted up her chin, kissing her slowly.

"You gonna be okay?" he questioned, pulling away to rest his forehead against hers, and she nodded slightly, her eyes vulnerable as she stared up at him," I'm so glad you're here." He reminded her.

"My back is extremely sore. Other than that, I am feeling the best I have in months," she assured him quietly, and kissed him quickly again,"And you?"

"Life's starting to have some meaning again," he said softly, and she smiled, "And I have a hot date tonight," he said, and she crossed her arms, staring at him, "Crazy little former assassin that I'm going to cook dinner for. And it has to be perfect…otherwise she might murder me with her paperclip," he teased, and she blushed.

"I am glad," she breathed, letting go of him to press the button again.

When the elevator doors opened, they were standing on opposite sides. McGee stared at them strangely.

"Morning!" she said brightly to McGee, and he frowned.

"Good morning…" Tim said, taking in her appearance, noticing her clothes.

"Ouch!" Mcgee said, staring up at Tony, annoyed, holding the back of her head.

"Stop checking her out, McPervert, and get some work done!" Tony chastised him, walking over to his desk and sitting down, staring across the bull pen at her, a small smile on his face.

"Weren't you both wearing those clothes yesterday?" McGee questioned, and Ziva glanced down abruptly.

"So what if we were, McSleuth?" Tony questioned, "I really don't think its any of your business!" he added as an afterthought, and Ziva smirked.

"I am going to go and change," she told him, and he nodded," You want coffee?"

"Jasmine tea with lime," he said, and they stared at each other for a moment, a smile breaking out on her face.

"I am sure you will enjoy it. Taking a chance can be a very good thing sometimes," she said, her eyes portraying a hidden meaning, and Tony smiled back her.

"Yeah, it can," he breathed, watching her leave the bullpen.

Tony took a shirt out of his drawer, and was putting it on when McGee pointed at his neck.

"You have a hickie," McGee noticed, and Tony stared at him, annoyed.

"Yes, its true McGee. I met a girl, we drove to lovers lane, and I may have even gotten to second base!" he joked, his voice in falsetto,"Cut it out, would ya?" he added, all the while buttoning up his shirt as quickly as he could.

"You seem to be in a good mood, that's all," McGee said, and Tony sighed, leaning back in his chair, nodding at him.

"That I am," he responded, and McGee frowned.

"What did you do last night?" he questioned, and Tony rolled his eyes," Really?"

"Oh, just some paperwork," Tony said nonchalantly as Ziva set his cup down, smirking at him, "Don't worry your little head about it, McGeek."

Ziva fought back a laugh at her desk as Gibbs walked in, and glanced back over at Tony. Maybe surviving all of this would have better results than she had anticipated. She had not felt this alive in a very long time. She felt eyes on her, and glanced up at him, her cheeks reddening as she stared down at her desk again.

**Fin**


	2. Chapter 2

Little author's note:

Do you want me to continue this? Its meant to be a flashback for something else. Sort of an explanation without giving too much away for my other story. This is NOT based on a sexual fantasy. In any shape or form. I looked back on it and tried to re-edit it to see if there was skirt somewhere in there, in response to someone's review, and there isn't…she was wearing pants the whole story. I wanted to fix it, but since I can't seem to find anything wrong, guess that's all good and well. I'm glad you thought I was true to the characters, everyone. That's my serious, serious pet peeve about Tony/Ziva fics. I figured alcohol would be a good reason for her to loosen up, as him, since they both have a really hard time expressing their feelings.

But Im glad y'all liked the story. And that it was long. Sometimes it just flows. Im not even kidding. I started writing this other story…the one this is based on loosely…or at least the aftermath because it takes place a really really really long time later….so this is…a means to an end, an explanation. The other story already has 70 pages. I hate short stories. Its certainly not the typical story I would write. Im going to great lengths to make sure I don't screw up the characters. Rarely do you write for a fandom where the characters are so well developed.

But yeah, if you'd like me to post the other story, let me know.

But in summary, thanks guys! Your reviews made my day.

-Jena


	3. AUTHORS NOTE! :

Hey guys! I really appreciate your reviews! Just so you know, the sequel, actual full length story to this…is called "Catch me if you can". Its posted under my username and everything. Paperwork was more of a premise, but there are flashbacks, dreams, hallucinations…etc, that deal directly with the aftermath of it, and Tony and Ziva's relationship. There's some OCs, and I promise you, I spend LOADS of time creating them. They are not dull OCs. I hate it when that happens.

So, if you read this, and then read the other story, and read me a review I can reply to, I'll send you some spoilers, or what I'm working on to an extent.

Im so glad y'all enjoyed this. I had a great time writing it.

Jena


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